Looking for the positive in life while living and learning in Greencastle, PA

Random acts of kindness

About this blog

By Stephanie Ziebarth

Stephanie Ziebarth won national and state awards before choosing to focus on family and ministry rather than a career in magazine journalism. She spends most of her time homeschooling her children and coordinating Joy El Generation's Barnabas
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Stephanie Ziebarth won national and state awards before choosing to focus on family and ministry rather than a career in magazine journalism. She spends most of her time homeschooling her children and coordinating Joy El Generation's Barnabas mentoring program, though she occasionally writes for local and national publications. She and husband Aaron Ziebarth have three children.

Our preschool daughter’s eyes widened noticeably as we passed the gigantic gumball machine on the way to our restaurant table. I knew it was only a matter of time…
“Can I have a gumball?” she asked quietly.
My husband and I generally do not invest our money in vending machines products, nor do we typically carry cash.
“I’m sorry,” I gently replied. “We don’t have any cash on us.”
She looked back at the machine and asked again. I responded again that it was not possible.
After her expressing her dismay yet again, my husband said, “You’re just going to have to pray and ask God to give you a gumball, because we cannot buy one without change.”
After watching her bow her little, curly-topped head, I inwardly wondered how this would play out.
On our way out of the restaurant later, a man sitting at the bar by himself asked, “Would you like a gumball, little girl? Would your brother like one too?” And, after a nod from my husband, he tossed quarters to both our daughter and our son.
I’m sure you can imagine their reactions.
His small gesture of kindness made a big impression. Eleven years later, we still tell the story.
After all, we are all warmed by a generous act—like what happened to some Greencastle friends of ours recently.
The couple was out for dinner at El Sombrero (http://www.el-sombrero.net/) when their server surprised them with the news that another diner had covered their dinner bill.
The other diner had no way of knowing that this young couple was facing the foreclosure of their home. His little act of kindness meant much more than he even realized.
Random Acts of Kindness Week (http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/) wraps up tomorrow. Whether you knew there was such a thing or not, and whether you want to participate today or throughout the entire calendar year, a little kindness goes a long way.